Stalked by the Alpha

Part 1: Move-In Day

My rusty old VW beetle pulled into the parking lot and I turned it off with a final death rattle. The mechanic had assured me that there would be no issues with traveling from North Dakota to Washington, and I was glad his promise had held up. I didn't have anyone to call if I broke down on the interstate, so I was screwed if anything happened.

Admiring the greenery around me, I pulled my backpack from the passenger side and stood up, stretching my arms over my head. The air felt fresh and I breathed deeply, smelling the pines that dominated the landscape. I had chosen this college for the sole reason that it was one of the most renowned in the country for its geology program. As an added bonus, it was around 1,342 miles from everything that reminded me of my past. I grabbed my duffel bag out of the trunk and walked over to the building that proudly proclaimed 'Thomason Hall' in large capital letters. There was a line of students in front, waiting in front of the registration table. Luckily the line moved quickly and before I knew it I was in front of 2 girls who had smiles that practically split their faces. I swear I saw one of them sniff the air when I walked up, but I just tried to ignore it.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up my room key. Evan Madison?"

I saw their expressions at my name. I think most people hear my name and assume I'm a boy, and I don't blame them at all, but it doesn't make it any less annoying.

The blonde one smiled and said, "Of course! You're staying on the 2nd floor, room 237, in the girls wing. You're going to want to walk in and take a left."

"Thank you!" I turned and entered the brown wood double doors. I took a left, as instructed, and walked down a hallway lined with doors until I found the staircase. People were already moving in and out of their dorms, most of them chatting with their parents and new roommates animatedly and bringing in boxes of stuff into their room. Two flights of stairs later, I emerged on the next floor slightly out of breath. 3 doors later I stopped at 237. The door was slightly open so I knocked quietly and pushed the door open. To my surprise there was a couple who were so firmly attached to each other's faces that I was forced to awkwardly clear my throat. With a gasp, the girl pushed the guy off of her, where he landed on the floor with a thud and a groan.

"Oh my god I am so sorry! I didn't hear you come in!" The girl, presumably my new roommate, apologized hurriedly, trying to fix her hair and clothes. The guy was just laying on the floor, watching with an amused look on his face.

"Um, that's okay. And yes, my name is Evan, and I'm your new roommate," I could feel the blush on my face, and I hated it. I was always so terrible with new people.

My roommate seemed to sense that because she gave me a reassuring smile and stuck out her hand, "My name is Paige. And this is John."

I shook her hand quickly, trying not to show how uncomfortable I was with the contact. I didn't really like touching anyone. Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I saw John take a sniff. What was with people sniffing me? I guess 15 hours in the car probably didn't make me smell awesome. I blushed even more and stammered out, "Well, I have to go get some more stuff from my car, so I'll be right back."

I walked down the hall quickly, breathing deeply to try to calm down. 'Just focus on what you're doing now' I told myself all the way back to my car. It only took one more trip to get all of my stuff from my car to my room. I didn't own a lot and my tiny car would hold even less. I made sure the doors of my car were locked and carefully walked back to Thomason, keeping my eyes on the ground so I didn't trip.

Suddenly, I ran into what appeared to be a wall of muscle, barely managing to keep a hold on my things. The wall turned around and was revealed to actually be a guy who made my mind go blank for a second with his looks. He had a mane of dark brown hair and a chiseled jaw and the most mesmerizing green eyes. They looked like twin emeralds and had flecks of brown and gold. I almost started drooling when he said in a deep voice, "Are you all right?"

I snapped back to reality and quickly looked down, quietly saying, "yes, I'm so sorry." I could hear his sniff this time and watched as his shoulders stiffened. 'I guess I do smell,' I thought to myself and hurried away, my face beet red. I could feel his gaze on my back and walked faster, just wanting desperately to get as far away as possible. I couldn't let myself get close to anyone here. Nothing good ever comes from that in my experience.

Returning to my room, I was greeted to Paige sitting on her bed, scrolling through something, while John sat next to her, talking urgently on the phone to someone.

"Are you sure it was-? Well did you get their name? Where they lived? Can you track their-? Look Alpha-" He cut off his sentence abruptly with a sharp look in my direction. "Look, I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Because! Bye!"

'Alpha? That was kind of a pretentious nickname,' I thought to myself while unpacking. It was a little sad looking to see 99% of my worldly possessions all spread out. My clothes only took up about half the closet, and I only had 3 pairs of shoes to speak of. My beloved laptop was the only thing of real worth that I owned besides my grandma's necklace, but that was always around my neck. Luckily if Paige noticed how little I had, she didn't say anything to me about it. John left after a rather extreme make-out session and a promise to meet in an hour.

"So you and John? How long has that been going on?" I asked her with a grin.

She laughed, "Oh, about 3 months. He's a little possessive sometimes, but that's not unusual for him. He and I are going to a party tonight if you want to join us!"

I chewed my lip absentmindedly. I didn't like parties, but I didn't want to be a stick in the mud on the first day. "Okay, just let me take a shower first" I agreed reluctantly and started to get my shower supplies together.

"That's fine! The showers are down the hall," she said with a smile and flopped back on her bed.

The bathroom was warm and inviting, and I got lucky with a shower that had good water pressure. The warmth relaxed my muscles momentarily and gave me a second of relaxation. I ran my fingers through my hair, wincing whenever I felt the puckered scar tissue. I was lucky to have been blessed with a thick head of hair, otherwise a lot of people would have questions that I wasn't ready to answer. I finished showering and shuffled out of the bathroom.

When I entered, Paige was sitting at her desk with an arsenal of makeup, getting ready for the party. I got dressed quickly in the corner of my room holding my towel around me so she wouldn't see the jagged scar that ran down from my shoulder blade to my hip. My body was ugly, and I knew that, so I hid it. I finished and Paige immediately sat me down and used a blow dryer on my hair until it fell in long black waves down my back, resting just above my hips. If she felt my scar, she didn't say anything about it, which I was grateful for. She put mascara and eye shadow on my eyes but that was it, thankfully. She said, "It's too bad you're not blonde like me, because our color palates are the complete opposite. "

It was exactly one hour from when he said he would meet her that John knocked on the door. "Are we ready to go? You know that the Alp- I mean Gabe doesn't like to wait around."

Paige was looking amazing, with a gray crop top and black jeans that showed off her figure. I felt dowdy compared to her in my skinny jeans and black v-neck. I reminded myself that there was no one here to impress, so I shook off the doubt and smiled, " I'm ready if you are!"